One of my biggest questions since the beginning of Survivor: Blood vs. Waterhas been the debate over whether players without loved ones are in a stronger position than those with their loved ones still in the game, and this week’s episode went a long way in proving which play style was more advantageous.

Oh, Wednesday night’s episode also saw two players get eliminated, one re-enter the game and both pre-existing tribes merge into one.

With such an eventful night of Survivor, let’s get right into the action.

Galang

After returning from what may be one of the least strategic tribal councils of the season, a relieved Vytas wastes no time in expressing his gratitude to the four remaining women as he publicly pledges his undying allegiance to them for the rest of the game.

“This is my tribe and I’m speaking for Aras too,” he says moments before he tells the camera that his only priority is to make it to the merge so he can link up with his brother, Aras.

Meanwhile, as the Galang women continue to be awed by Vytas’ charm, Tina pulls Monica over to the side and commits one of the most common Survivor mistakes by telling the former Survivor: One World player that she has solidified her position within her alliance — consisting of her daughter Katie, Vytas and presumably Aras — until they reach the final five. Forget the fact that Monica has, on more than one occasion, proven to be easily paranoid, but telling any player that they are on the outside looking in of a strong four-person alliance will immediately scare them off and have them on the lookout for better offers.

Redemption Island Duel

After 19 days of watching a variety of different castoffs compete for their survival, this week’s Redemption Island Challenge was finally going to see one of Laura M., John or Laura B. re-enter the game.

While we’ve been waiting long enough for one of these players to be reinstated I was surprised to hear Ciera tell us that her game could be ruined if her mom, Laura M., re-entered the game as she is in a strong alliance with the new Tadhana tribe, with the rest of the “single” players.

“It could really ruin my game if she comes back,” she notes, further bringing into question whether or not it is a benefit to play alongside a loved one.

This week’s Redemption Island duel proved to be yet another classic Survivor challenge as it saw each player hang on to a wooden pole for as long as possible. The last player standing would be crowned the winner and be ushered back into the game.

For the second week in a row, the challenge looked to be tailor-made for Laura M. whose petite athletic build appeared ideal for this type of exhausting challenge. Everything seemed to be going smoothly for the Redemption Island trio up until the 20-minute mark when John lost his footing and eventually slid off the pole. After the competitive doctor was eliminated from the challenge it was only a matter of time before a relentless Laura B. slid off her pole, making Laura M. this season’s first Redemption Island champion.

After John and Laura B. left the game, Jeff announced that both tribes would finally merge. Additionally, he told Laura M. that she had the power to give a clue to the hidden immunity idol to anyone in the game, which now included her. She elected to give it to herself but, like almost every other clue, she was quick to toss it in the fire.

The Merge

After the 11 remaining players made their way back to camp to enjoy their “Merge Feast,” Ciera wasted no time in pulling her mother aside to discuss their strategy. From the beginning of their conversation it became clear Laura M. wanted to form an alliance with the two other pairs — brothers Aras and Vytas and mother-daughter duo Tina and Katie — but her daughter was quick to argue she is in a good position with the singles, which consists of Hayden, Caleb, Tyson and Gervase. Regardless of which way they lean, they both understand they are in power positions as their votes will help dictate the direction of the game.

In the midst of everyone trying to establish their bearings and figure out where exactly they stood in their new tribe, a now united Vytas and Aras immediately began to discuss their strategy and were quick to agree to form an alliance with Tina, Monica, Gervase, Tyson and Katie.

Recognizing that everything was very much up in the air, Tyson elected to channel his inner Malcolm Freberg and search for the hidden immunity idol with the information Hayden told him when he first swapped tribes. In a matter of minutes, the former Tocantins contestant found his first-ever hidden immunity idol near an awkward looking tree which should serve as a sobering reminder for any aspiring Survivor contestants to check any weird looking natural objects near camp.

Immunity Challenge

Everyone’s memories were tested at the first individual immunity challenge as players were tasked with remembering a sequence of symbols that they would then have repeat using a cubed cue. If a player chose a symbol out of sequence they would be eliminated. The last player standing would be awarded the immunity necklace.

While this type of mental challenge was a nice change of pace from the physical challenges we’ve gotten accustomed to during the team stages of the game, I couldn’t help but wish that the producers had swapped this challenge with the Redemption Island duel seeing as how the wooden pole challenge is not only a classic individual immunity challenge, but it would have made for a more visually exciting experience.

In the end, Aras and Vytas were the last two contestants remaining in the challenge, further proving that they are the power pair to beat. Vytas ended up edging out his brother and won the season’s first individual immunity.

Tribal Council

In predictable post-merge manner, it was hard to grasp just exactly how this vote was going to turn out. But one thing was certain: the vote would dictate the game for the foreseeable future.

On one hand, it appeared that Tyson, Gervase, Monica, Ciera, Caleb, Hayden and now Laura M. would band together and vote off Aras. On the other, Aras and Vytas seemed overly confident that they would be able to vote off Laura M., firmly believing they have complete control of both the night’s vote and the game.

“Moving forward the biggest threats in this game are Aras and I,” said Vytas. “We’ve got this beach on lock and I’d be surprised if anyone has the guts to do anything about it.”

In typical “I told you so” fashion, the brothers quickly learned that no matter how confident you are, no one is ever safe in the game of Survivor.

Following a Tribal Council discussion that kept audiences guessing as to the outcome of the vote, Tyson’s six-man alliance emerged victorious as Aras became the latest Survivor: Blood vs. Water contestant to be blindsided.

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